Bad Theology: Equal Rights for Satan

There are times when I see something related to God, religion, etc. that triggers within me a strong negative reaction by the sentiment the item expresses. My reaction is not simply a matter of "Oh, I disagree with that." More often than not, it is a reaction more along the lines of "Wow, the implicit theology is terrible/overstated/marred in political ideology/heretical."

So, the below church sign is the subject of this edition of "Bad Theology."



Let's start with the imprecision of the statement "Remember Satan was the first to demand equal rights." It is unclear which "equal rights" we are talking about. While this moment in our national history can lead one to guess that the sign is referring to lgbt+ rights, the sign does not make that clear. The problem is then that the sign could refer to any equal rights movement. One could imagine this sign up to the 1920s being used against women's suffrage. One could imagine this sign up to the 1960s being used to defend Jim Crow. I would wonder how far back in history the congregation would argue against equal rights. However, with a statement this universalizing it does not matter. Any advocated-for "equal right" is tied to Satan's bid for equality with (or rather, supplanting of) God.

Now, to put my main objection in its simplest terms: equality with God and expecting equal treatment from other humans is *not* the same thing.

There is the problem of association and that will take some background to explain. Assuming some traditional Christian categories into which we slot humans, angels, and God into a hierarchy (in ascending majesty (cf. Ps 8:4-5)), there is the matter of 'vertical' and 'horizontal' relationship.  For instance, the story of Satan holds that Satan was an angel who sought to usurp God and ultimately rebelled(/rebels/will rebel). This is a break in 'vertical' relationship in which the divine hierarchy was threatened. Satan's sin being pride, Satan tried to put himself in the position he thought he deserved: God the Creator's place.

But humanity coexist in horizontal relationship with each other. The social witness of the prophets, the Gospel, and the imperfectly-realized love we are supposed to share and hold for all whom we meet bear this vision of humanity. The basis of human dignity and our equality is in our shared likeness, being made in the image of God. In the many disputes among humans, none can claim special privilege over others when it comes to the essence of human dignity. Our human propensity for placing ourselves in heirarchies must always be held in some suspicion since they always fall away in God's estimation of what is important. This is what it means to respect the rights of others.

So back to the statement "remember Satan was the first to demand equal rights." This was the breaking of the created order and the upsetting of a vertical relationship. But--by association--for the sign's statement to have any meaning in the human/horizontal context then there have to be corresponding human actors for Satan and God. In other words, this sign has meaning by association if straight/white/cis/male are stand-ins for God and all others who challenge the social hierarchy with these men at the top do so as agents of evil. If this is not what the sign-maker means, it is certainly what the sign-maker is implying. And it is certainly how a majority of straight/white/cis/male Christians have acted--even within the last fifty years.  Gross.

So, there it is.  This sign fails even in theological terms that are quite traditional.